Malus x purpurea Paul Hauber - Purple Crabapple

The Malus 'Paul Hauber' is an attractive German variety of ornamental apple tree, of medium size, well suited for small gardens. Its foliage is as decorative as its flowering, with young leaves emerging in a dark red shade before gradually evolving into a dark green with a hint of red. The spring flowering is magnificent when numerous intensely pink flowers bloom. After fertilisation, they produce small red fruits that remain on the tree for a long time, unless birds make a meal of them. Easy to grow in most situations, hardy and elegant, this small tree deserves to be planted as a specimen or integrated into a border.

The Apple Tree is one of the many genera in the large family Rosaceae, which includes wild plants from our countryside, fruit trees, and a large number of ornamental plants (Sorbaria, Crataegus, Rosa...). The genus Malus, the scientific name for the Apple Tree, is divided into approximately 25 species scattered throughout Europe, Asia (up to the Himalayas), and North America (up to Texas and Florida). Cultivated for a long time for its fruits (the Romans already knew 29 varieties in the 1st century AD), the Apple Tree also includes ornamental species, imported to Europe since the 18th century, but especially since the second half of the 19th century, with the introduction of Asian species revered for their flowering.
'Paul Hauber' is a very interesting variety, with fairly rapid growth, ranging from 30 to 70 cm per year. At maturity, it can reach up to 8 m in height and 5 m in spread. It forms a wide, spreading, irregular crown with partially trailing shoots. In spring, the foliage and flowering appear at about the same time. The elliptical leaves with pointed ends have a magnificent colour ranging from dark red to reddish-green, enhanced by the glossy appearance of their surface. They gradually evolve into a bronze red and then a dark green, sometimes still slightly tinged with purple-red. The red petioles form a discreet and elegant contrast with the leaf blade surface.
The dark pink flower buds open to reveal single flowers with five very rounded petals. Medium-sized, about 4 cm in diameter, the flowers attract all eyes in the garden with their abundance and deep pink colour. The centre of the flower is occupied by a cluster of stamens with yellow anthers that stand out against the pink corolla. The slightly fragrant flowers are melliferous and delight pollinators, including bees. After fertilisation, the flowers transform into tiny round apples, ranging in colour from burgundy to dark red, carried by long stalks. These fruits have real decorative value and serve as food for birds. They are also edible, tart and slightly sweet, although slightly sour. These fruits, which form in September and October, remain on the tree for a long time, at least until the birds have not consumed them.
The deciduous foliage colours little in autumn before falling, unlike other varieties such as Malus 'Coccinella', which also has a more limited growth.

The 'Paul Hauber' Flowering Apple Tree is a beautiful tree highly resistant to frost, which will grow in most soils around neutrality (from not too acidic to reasonably chalky), humus-bearing, permeable, and fertile. You should preferably plant it in full sun to enhance the foliage colour, either as a specimen on a lawn or as a background in a mixed border. Have fun creating colour contrasts both in terms of foliage and flowering. The Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Spirit' will be a perfect companion, with its golden yellow spring foliage, which celebrates autumn with an explosion of orange-red. Furthermore, its creamy white flower panicles in summer turn into plumes of coppery orange. The classic, yet always admired Spiraea vanhouttei forms a dome of white flowers throughout spring that harmonise beautifully with the pink of your Apple Tree. And to extend the flowering period of your border into summer, nothing beats a Lagerstroemia, or Crape Myrtle, which combines incomparable flower beauty and dazzling colours, foliage that generally takes on warm autumnal hues, and bark that becomes increasingly ornamental over time.